


Sandstorm

by crystalfox



Series: Timeslips [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-02 20:18:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13325736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalfox/pseuds/crystalfox
Summary: Before Finn meets Rey, he meets a mysterious stranger in the desert.





	Sandstorm

**Author's Note:**

> Part of 'Timeslips' - Strange happenings across the galaxy, through time and not just space. People are falling into little timeslips, allowing them to travel backwards, forwards, up, down, and sideways through time without realising it.
> 
> Please see series page for more info/notes.

Finn adjusted Poe's jacket, slinging it over his shoulder, as he staggered in the intense heat of the desert. He breathed heavily, he was desperately thirsty and there seemed to be no town in sight. Great, he thought, he'd escaped only to get lost in the middle of nowhere. He sighed heavily, wondering what he was going to do, what was going to happen. Having grown up in the First Order, his life had been a series of never ending rules but now he had to rely solely on his own decisions. He worried he would make the wrong decision and end up in an even worse place than the First Order, if that was possible. That is, if he ever got out of this desert.

There was nothing but seemingly endless sand dunes in all directions, he wondered if he'd get a better view from higher up so Finn clambered up the largest dune near him. Falling a couple of times in the hot sand, he was greeted by a view of more sand dunes. Turning slowly, he held his hand up to shield his eyes from the blinding light of the sun, _dunes, dunes, dunes- Ah!_ Completing his turn, he could now see a rocky outcrop poking out of the dunes in the distance.

Finn jogged towards it, trying not to slip as the sand moved unevenly beneath his feet. The outcrop was an incongruous feature in the landscape, a mixture of smooth boulders and craggy rocks haphazardly sprawled in between two large dunes. Finn hoped there was some kind of friendly settlement there, although at this point, he'd take an unfriendly settlement. He had nearly reached his destination when the storm started.

First, it was just a warm breeze, which he barely noticed as he went towards the rocks. Then, before he knew it, strong wind was blowing, whipping the sand painfully into his face, the sky had turned a steel grey. He pulled Poe's jacket over his head to try and protect his face, and moved faster towards the rocks. Soon, it was almost impossible to see more than a couple of metres but he'd reached the rocks and so he slowed down slightly, looking for some form of building or cave to hide in. Several paths led in and out of the outcrop, winding through the rocks and off into the distance, back into the desert. Stark and rough, there didn't appear to be anything remotely approaching civilisation there.

Just as Finn was beginning to despair, a hooded figure emerged from out of nowhere. The noise of the storm was roaring in his ears so if the person said anything, Finn couldn't hear it but he understood the beckoning gesture the figure made into a cave he could now see. _Could be dangerous,_ he thought, but it was that or eat sand for however long the storm lasted.

Hurrying over, he pulled the jacket off his head as he entered the quiet, dim of the cave. The entrance was protected by some large boulders either side, which was why Finn didn't see it immediately and why the inside was protected from the storm. It was cool and damp in there and Finn relished the break from the sand and the heat.

"Thank you. I thought I was going to have to brave the storm out in the open." He brushed the sand off his clothes.

The stranger had removed his hood, sitting on a low stone, "You're welcome." Finn could see that he was an old bearded man, wearing unusual long neutral coloured robes. Perhaps that was the fashion on this planet, to blend in with your surroundings. He didn't look dangerous, just tired. Finn decided he could let down his guard a bit, so he sat on another low stone, opposite the man.

"It came out of nowhere." Finn paused, looking at the stranger who was staring at the storm. "The storm, I mean."

"Yes, it suprised me. I've never seen anything like it."

Finn couldn’t place the man’s accent, it was clipped and formal, possibly from an Inner Rim planet. 

"Yeah?" Finn waited for the man to continue, but he just stared outside. His silence made Finn uncomfortable, so he tried to continue the conversation. "I would have thought sandstorms were common."

"They are but this is a strange one, stronger than anything I've seen. It feels..... _off_. There's something else at play." He was still staring at the sand lashing past, like rain, outside, as though he was trying to figure something out.

 _Ok_ , Finn thought, _probably not dangerous but maybe crazy._ He felt the need to keep talking, "Do you live here? I haven't seen any towns."

Turning to face him for the first time, the stranger replied, "I live alone, away from the towns. I was on my way home but I must have got turned around in the storm, this is familiar but I can't recall ever coming into this place before.” He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, “You're not from here, are you." The man tilted his head but it was a statement not a question. _He knows,_ Finn thought, which made sense considering Finn's lack of knowledge about towns or the weather. But Finn had the creeping feeling that the stranger knew he wasn't from here before they even started talking.

"No. I...I'm just...visiting, I guess. My ship crashed, I'm looking for a town or city or something." _And judging by your accent, you’re not from here either,_  he thought.

"There's one not far but it's a wretched place."

"Fine by me as long as I can get a ship and get out of here." Finn said, glancing at the entrance to the cave. "Is that why you don't live in the town? Because it's...wretched?

"No...I simply prefer to be alone. It's better that way, to be apart from others." The stranger spoke slowly, almost whispering at the end.

Finn had no reply to that but he noticed that there was a sadness, a loneliness in the answer. It clearly wasn't the truth, obviously something had happened in this man's past that had forced him into isolation on such a desolate planet.

They sat in silence for a few moments before the man fixed him with a penetrating gaze, "What are you running from?"

"Uh, who said I was running from anything? I'm just....lost." Finn couldn't meet the man's eyes, so he pretended to study the sand once again.

"If you are lost, then you should trust your instincts, they will never fail you. But I think you will soon know exactly where you should be going."

 _This is weird. Really weird,_ Finn thought. "Ok. I'll...er...make sure to do that."

The man was staring at the storm once more.  "It should be over soon. Whatever this storm is."

And, indeed, the stranger seemed to be correct. The wind started to calm slowly, the sand falling in miniature dunes, the sky clearing from grey to a clear blue, like the storm had never happened. It was as if the man had willed it so.

"Who _are_ you?" The words tumbled out of Finn's mouth before he could stop himself. He'd never met anyone like this guy. _Maybe this is all a hallucination,_ Finn wondered wildly, _maybe I'm actually back in the sand dying of thirst._

The man stood up from the rock, brushing invisible dirt from his robes, "I'm no-one. Just an old man." He smiled briefly. "But I go by the name Ben."

 _10 credits say that's not your real name,_ Finn thought to himself.

He stood up as well, slinging the jacket over his shoulder once again, he extended his hand, "I'm Finn."

"It's nice to meet you Finn."

"You too, Ben, and thanks again for saving me from the storm."

The man smiled kindly and Finn wondered again about him. He obviously had some good stories to tell. But it appeared they would not have a happy ending.

They stepped out of the cool of the cave and into the blistering sunlight.

Ben glanced around, eyes squinting in concentration, before he nodded slightly to himself. “I believe I should go this way.” He pointed to a path on the left which sloped downwards gently, disappearing between some overhanging rocks. “And you,” he gestured to a path on the right, “should go up that path. They’ll be some more desert and then you should arrive at the town.” 

Finn looked at the twisting trail which ascended upwards, he had no idea if Ben really did know where he should be going but he felt strangely comfortable following his suggestion. Trust your instincts, Ben had said, so Finn decided he would and his instinct right then was to trust Ben. 

“Well, I should be off. Take care Finn.” Ben smiled warmly. “And...don’t....don’t let fear control you.”

That was an odd thing to say but Finn found it comforting. 

“Thanks.” Finn felt the need to say something comforting to Ben too. “You know, you shouldn’t be alone all the time.” He thought of the brief time he had spent with Poe. “It’s important to be around people sometimes, they can be good for you.”

Ben seemed taken aback, blinking rapidly, “Th-thank you Finn. I shall consider that.” 

He nodded, turning away from Finn, raising a hand in farewell, and ambled down the path. Finn watched him go before turning and heading up the path which would hopefully take him to civilisation. He didn’t know what had just happened but he had a feeling that it would prove useful in the future. Later, after he met Rey, and during the chaotic events they faced together, Ben’s advice would prove useful even though Finn would not remember where he heard the words.

——

As Obi-Wan walked he considered Finn’s words. It had been an interesting, if not very unusual meeting, a disturbance in the force for sure. But not an unwelcome one. How the storm had happened, he was unsure, but he knew that it was not simply bad weather. He decided not to question it too much, sometimes strange things happened in the galaxy and there was no great meaning to them.

The young man was clearly on the run from some danger but Obi-Wan could sense great bravery, true loyalty, and a fighting spirit in him. A hero in the making, he would have made a good Jedi, he mused to himself. 

He thought again about what Finn had suggested, that he should not spend so much time alone. There was truth to that, he should be around people more. Perhaps, the next time he saw Luke he would talk to him, try and spend some time with him. Little did he know, he was about to see Luke sooner than he thought, and he would get to spend some valuable time with him. 

—— 

Soon the strange storm, appearing both on Jakku and Tatooine, and the specifics of their meeting would disappear from both Finn’s and Obi-Wan’s minds, leaving only the simple echo of their words. The comforting advice they gave each other would prove useful to both of them in their respective futures, even though they no longer remembered who gave it to them. 

**Author's Note:**

> It’s time travel and also travelling across different planets. Somehow. It’s weird stuff in space. 
> 
> I'm a new writer. Feedback/comments/constructive criticism welcome!


End file.
